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Biggio hopes to spur Astros to series win vs. Dodgers

Jul 25, 2007 - 1:43 PM LA Dodgers (56-45) at Houston (43-57) 8:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The same day he announced his retirement effective at the end of the season, Craig Biggio hit a grand slam. On Wednesday, he will try to help the Houston Astros get a series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A seven-time All-Star who is the franchise leader in hits (3,016), runs (1,827) and games (2,799), Biggio is the only player in major league history to record 600 doubles, 250 homers, 3,000 hits and 400 steals. He also became the first Astro in the team's 46-year history to reach 3,000 hits on June 28.

Matt Albers (2-4, 5.76 ERA) will make his first start since May 23 in place of Roy Oswalt, who will miss his scheduled start on Wednesday because of soreness in his upper chest. To beat the Dodgers, he will need to likely perform at a clip higher than his previous stint as a starter, when he went 1-4 with a 6.35 ERA in seven starts.

The 24-year-old righthander permitted a run and two hits in an inning of relief against Pittsburgh in Houston's 7-3 loss Saturday. He has never faced the Dodgers.

Los Angeles will counter with Derek Lowe (8-9, 3.48), who will be seeking his first win in seven starts. He was abysmal in his last start, a 13-9 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday in which he surrendered eight earned runs and 10 hits in just three frames.

The sinkerballer has been effective in four lifetime outings against the Astros, but has been dealt some hard luck, going 1-2 despite a 2.76 ERA. He has received only one run of support in each of his last three starts against Houston.